Last Wednesday a high surf advisory had been issued for Hanalei. The predictions of 18-26 foot surf was enough to entice me into traveling to the north side of the island for a look see. I kept wondering though; was this 18-26 foot Hawaiian or 18-26 foot mainland? Either way is large but through the Hawaiian lens it could mean 40-50 feet! Which is another story alltogether. Still, 18-26 feet is very, very impressive so put the pedal to the metal!
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| Red footed booby, Year round resident |
Not so fast Sparky; everything moves at a slower pace on Kauai. Especially if everyone is on the one road around the island at the same time. Plus every hundred yards or so I had to pull over and watch the humpback whales playing around right offshore. Then the obligatory stop at the Kilauea lighthouse to check out the amazing varieties of bird life in the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Then getting caught out on the point in a slow moving squall; stopping for coffee in Kilauea town; wondering why that woman has a pet pig in the coffee shop on a leash; you get the idea. It took a while to actually pull into Hanalei and find a place to set up for some photos.
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| Laysan albatross (Moli), winter resident |
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| Nene, state bird. |
It was big, about double overhead, but it was very unorganized and waves were popping up all over the bay. From the south side to the north side the bay was awash in waves. At first I couldn't find anyone in the lineup but then someone took off on a large, long wall. One of the Hanalei lifeguards on an SUP (I know this because I talked with one of the guys after he got out of the water and he gave me a rundown on who was in the lineup), and next a talented local who had the best waves. There were only 4 guys out in the line up; everyone was paddling into the waves but at least two of them were being towed back out into the lineup by waiting jetskis.
So, it wasn't the best day I ever had photographing big waves but the entire trip was well worth it.
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| Moli. Reminds me of Orville in the Disney movie, "The Rescuers" |
Have a good one
Aloha
Gary
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| Now that's some backwash! |
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| South side of Hanalei Bay. SUP racing a long, long wall |
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| One of the better waves ridden that day |
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| Looking north across the bay |
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| Ke'e beach nasty shorebreak; about 8 feet or so |
All photos copyright Gary Erbeck
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